Chapter Six: [Manifestations]
"No," Neo said. "You're lying. It can't be true."
"It's the sad truth," the man muttered. "I promise you."
"No…" Neo said, still not absorbing the fact. "It can't be. I went to save Zion!"
"Save Zion?" the man asked. "What are you talking about?"
"I…was on a mission," Neo said, coming back to where he was and who he was supposed to be…namely, not Neo.
"A secret mission to save Zion. We were heading straight for 01 with a new kind of computer virus. Before we got there, we were attacked by Sentinels…01 defenses shot us down."
The man chuckled softly at the confused looks on faces of his companions.
"Sentinels," he said. "Early, full-machine warriors. 01 was the first machine city."
He turned to Neo. "We better get you back to Babylon, Phoenix. It's not safe outside."
"Lead the way."
The small group gathered together and headed deeper into the ruins of Chicago. Their leader stopped in front of a large pile of rubble.
"We left the Scorpion here," he said, pushing away the rocks. The Scorpion was a large vehicle, similar to the tanks Neo had seen inside the Matrix. The exterior was large and bulky, makeshift armor bolted on all around. On the roof was mounted a large machine gun, and the back dropped open to admit the rebel troops. Raven climbed into the driver's seat, someone mounted the gunner's seat, and they started off.
The leader leaned back with a sigh of relief.
"We're never truly safe until we're, dead, of course," he smiled grimly, "but the Scorpion is one tough nut to crack."
Neo nodded.
"So, let me introduce myself," the man continued. "I'm the leader of Babylon's defense corps…Everyone just calls me 'Kid.'"
Neo raised his eyebrows.
It couldn't be…
"The man in the gunner seat," Kid continued, "Is Glitch."
Glitch was a large, tough young man with black hair and cold eyes. He wore his tattered clothes with a sense of ease and gripped the large gun with steady hands. He nodded a greeting to "Phoenix," his eyes never leaving the sky around them.
"The man next to you is Prime."
Prime was older, but no less strong. He gripped Neo's hand firmly and looked into his eyes, smiling as if he liked what he saw there.
"You already met Raven…" Kid continued. The driver didn't acknowledge.
"The woman to your left is our medic, by the name of Maggie. We found her lying almost dead in the wreckage of a hovercraft not long after Zion was destroyed. If we had arrived a day later, she would have been dead from blood loss."
Maggie nodded coolly, not meeting Neo's eyes. Neo was thankful for that, fearing she might recognize him, even twenty years later. Her hair had grown gray and she seemed very tired.
"The younger woman on your other side is Nova."
Nova smiled.
"And these two twins are Hawk and Raptor."
Two heavily built men waved from the back of the truck. Hawk was slightly taller, and slightly thinner, busy cleaning his weapon, a long sniper rifle. Raptor was lost in deep thought, but he raised his eyebrows at Neo.
"Is this all of us left?" Neo asked, despairing.
"No," Kid said. "There are a lot more back at Babylon. But our squad hasn't been back in a while. We were on our way back when we intercepted your transmission and came to rescue you. Then the Rapier hit us. If we hadn't been within flight distance of Babylon, we'd all be in a lot more pain right now."
Neo nodded. "What were those things that had me?"
Kid grinned slightly. "Wow, you really have been out of it. Those are the Seekers. They're half-human, half-machine; we don't know how. The machines must have captured someone from Zion. Their leader is a man named "Zero," and he's the best of all of them. He somehow senses humans. We think we know why, but we haven't been able to counter it."
"Why?"
"Well, we think it's because of special abilities he inherited from his father."
"Who was it?"
"A man named Neo."
Neo felt the world around him warp.
What? No…It can't be…
"You knew him, Phoenix?"
Neo swallowed. "Yes."
"We're here," Raven said, breaking the silence. Neo walked to the front and glanced out the forward windshield.
The massive wreckage of a huge tower was in front of them. Neo saw a gate slowly rising as the vehicle moved forward. Out of the corner of his eye, Neo saw gun emplacements tracking the vehicle in the surrounding buildings. An APU stalked forward on creaky legs, ready to sacrifice its life for a few extra seconds should machines attack.
The vehicle slowed to a halt inside Babylon.
"Welcome," Kid said, "To the last human city. Sorry about this."
"What?" Neo said. Kid pressed a small box to the back of Neo's neck, and the One fell forward to the deck.
"Take him to the interrogation rooms," Kid said. "Have them meet him there."
Neo awoke on a small bed with a rather thin mattress. The metal bed bit into his back, and he sat up with a grown, fingering his head.
"Where am I?"
A door clanged and Neo looked up into a vaguely familiar face.
"Babylon," the man said. "You are Phoenix, correct?"
"Yes," Neo said.
"Good. We have some questions for you before you meet the Council."
"Questions?"
"Well, Phoenix, you must admit that a man sleeping on the surface for twenty years is a bit unlikely. And this is not the first time the machines have tried to get an assassin inside Babylon. Once they succeeded, and…"
The man fell silent. He cleared his throat before going on.
"My wife died in that attack. So if you're serving the machines, you'll get no mercy from me."
"I'm sorry," Neo said. "But you can trust me. I've been fighting against the machines me entire life."
The man sighed and closed his eyes. "So had Ballard."
"Ballard betrayed us?"
"We don't know why. We think he went insane after being trapped in Babylon for so long. One day he grabbed hold of an APU and opened fire in the Council chambers. He killed three people, including Councillor Hammand, my wife, and another councillor."
Neo was silent. The interrogator was quiet too, reflecting. Eventually, he broke the silence and ordered Neo to come with him.
He led Neo down a long hallway into a room with a single wooden chair. Neo sat in the chair and the man attached two things to the side of Neo's head. He placed a small box on a table nearby.
"This is a lie detector," he explained. "It will tell us if you're answering truthfully or not. The interrogation will begin as soon as the head of security gets here."
Neo sat in silence for many minutes. He heard footsteps at the end of the hall and looked up, meeting the eyes of a man he assumed to be the head of security of Babylon. Neo felt a powerful jolt and saw a flicker of recognition in the man's eyes.
"This is Phoenix," Neo's interrogator said. The newcomer stopped him.
"I know this man."
He came forward and crouched down in front of Neo.
"It's been a long time, Mister Anderson."
"Smith?" Neo gasped.
The interrogator looked from Smith to Neo.
"You know each other?"
"We know each other very well, Thompson. You were commissioned after the crash, so you never met the anomaly. This is the infamous Neo."
Smith's voice sneered slightly as he said Neo's name.
"What are you doing in a human city?" Neo finally asked.
"We're Babylon's security," Smith answered. "When the Matrix crashed, the humans offered to put us in the bodies of people who died during the attack on Zion. Our minds are capable of linking with their securities and protecting them to an extent no mere human could."
"The Matrix crashed?"
"The Architect was never human. He couldn't lie to you, Mister Anderson. But enough. I know someone who can explain what happened to Zion much better. After you meet the council, I will take you to see another old friend."